1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a pressure assist feature for cooking medium systems (e.g., pressure fryers) that use cooking media to cook food product under pressure. Specifically, the invention relates to using a filter pump for quickly increasing the pressure in the cooking chamber to facilitate pressurized cooking.
2. Description of Related Art
Known cooking apparatus, such as pressure fryers, are used to cook various food products, e.g., poultry, fish, potato products, and the like. Such cooking apparatus may include one or more cooking chambers, e.g., fryer pots, which may be filled with a cooking medium, e.g., an oil, a liquid shortening, or a meltable-solid shortening. Such cooking apparatus also may include a heating element, e.g., an electrical heating element, or a gas heating element, such as a gas burner and gas conveying tubes, which heat the cooking medium in the cooking chamber. The amount of time sufficient to cook or to complete the cooking of the food product at a given cooking temperature depends on the type and the amount of food product that is cooked. In a pressure fryer, when the food product is submerged in the oil, the food product cooks, releasing heat and steam, which pressurizes the cooking chamber. The increased pressure in the cooking chamber allows for thorough cooking in reduced time, and assists in preventing drying out of the food product.
Known pressure fryers may include a valve that, when not energized, may be open to allow pressure within a cooking chamber to vent. Then, when the valve is energized, the valve may close and pressure may be allowed to build up in the cooking chamber, e.g., during a cooking cycle. When cooking most food products in a pressure fryer, moisture within the food product boils out of the food product and turns into steam, which creates pressure in the enclosed cooking chamber. As the pressure inside the cooking chamber increases during cooking, a dead-weight mechanism regulates the pressure to an optimal operating pressure, e.g., about 11-12 pounds per square inch (“PSI”). However, how quickly the pressure in the cooking chamber may reach the operating target pressure is highly dependent on how much moisture is in the food product and how much food product is loaded into the pressure fryer.
Typically, larger loads of food product, which may contain more moisture and more surface area, may result in a cooking cycle that reaches operating target pressure faster than a smaller load of food product. For example, cooking a full, 8-head load of chicken may result in a cooking cycle that reaches operating target pressure after about four (4) to five (5) minutes, while cooking a 2-head load of chicken may take substantially longer to reach operating target pressure. A typical cooking cycle may be between twelve (12) to twenty (20) minutes total. Thus, while pressure fryers may produce optimal results for larger loads, a smaller load of food product, for example, may take nearly the entire cooking cycle time to reach operating pressure, resulting in inefficiency and loss of many of the benefits of pressure-frying.